By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
May 2, 2001
Brooke Shoemaker has a surefire strategy for never appearing in public wearing the same outfit as some other woman: Dress so quirky, so creatively, so out there that there’s no way to duplicate the getup or the xpressions made by passersby as she strolls around, clad in a vintage floral dress, jelly bracelets, fake pearls, way oversize sunglasses and her trusty Van sneakers.
Part artist, part rebel, Shoemaker comes from a family of preppies, and she is determined to make life way more fun dressing than her parents ever did.
“You should have fun with what you’re wearing,” says Shoemaker, 20, a retail manager who lives in Wrigleyville. “When you dress differently, you’re showing your creativity, having fun and feeling good about yourself.”
Shoemaker isn’t alone in her desire to separate herself from her Gap-dependent peers. She sets her own oddball fashion pace and doesn’t care who ogles. So it’s not surprising to learn that this fashion-eccentric young woman is a fan of Betsey Johnson, the wacky 59-year-old designer who has been known to execute cheerleader-perfect cartwheels at the end of her runway shows. “Her clothes are colorful, and she seems like she’s having fun with whatever she’s doing. I admire that,” Shoemaker says.
Shoemaker doesn’t shun the fashion machinery, either. She may scour thrift stores for ’70s pieces, but she’ll pair it with something she bought at a “normal” store because finding matching sets at vintage shops is difficult.
Aaron Hawn, 20, and Brian Henry, 22, don’t let a little thing like matching ruin their day. Bandmates in Tale of Genji, the Ukranian Village musicians say the only fashion combo they would never try is khakis with a white T-shirt. Oh, and anything with a baseball cap turned backward.
“Both our landlords took one look at us when we were getting our apartments and said, `Are you guys in bands?’ ” Hawn says. “I guess we’ve got that look going. But I wore this kind of stuff when I was a kid. I was always wearing overalls and flannel, so this isn’t a stretch for me.”
It’s not his plaid shirt that’s so eye-catching, it’s that there’s just so little of it. It clings to Hawn’s lanky frame and seems to repel the tie he wears, which matches nothing in his ensemble.
Henry also wears a plaid shirt, but his is set off by a jaunty bow tie.
“I’d say this is my favorite shirt because it’s so comfortable,” Henry says. “I also like my Nikes, which I got for 75 cents. I never really thought that much about style, but I have been buying my own stuff since high school. I think we look OK. We don’t look like trash, so it’s not too bad.”
Meanwhile, Evelyn Weston is a sight to be seen. Wearing a self-crocheted purple dress, Weston literally stops traffic as she crosses the street at Halsted and Roscoe. Passengers peer from their cars and point at her bright ensemble. Then they smile.
“I don’t really think about how other people will react to how I dress,” says Weston, 25, of Lake View. “I do get a lot of comments from people asking where I get my clothes or commenting on how they like what I have on. It is flattering, but sometimes I think I should keep a lower profile. But I just can’t do it!”
Weston, a production assistant, marvels over an $8 treasure she found recently at Payless.
“I may buy a dress and turn it into a skirt and top, which is really fun to do,” Weston says. “It’s just a lot of fun taking something and turning it into your own thing.”
Nicolas Lincoln of Lake View agrees.
“The combination of name brands and vintage clothes is the best thing,” says Lincoln, a 22-year-old ballet dancer who models his vintage $10 shirt and a pair of $160 Diesel jeans. “Creating your own style is the best thing and the most fun way of expressing your individuality. If it’s all going to be the same, that’s just stupid. Why bother?”
